Traditionally, customers seeking to obtain new eyeglasses are limited to making purchases at retail outlets. Such purchases usually require the assistance of an optician or a sales associate. Typically, the customer first obtains a prescription from an ophthalmologist and then visits an optician to choose a frame style for the eyeglasses. The customer may try several frames before selecting a desired frame. The optician then orders a pair of lenses corresponding to the prescription and adapted for the selected frames. Retail eyeglasses sales require trained opticians to take optical measurements, input the prescription, and order lenses from a laboratory. More recent advances in online selling of eyeglasses also do not address the needs of customers in rural locations, which often have little to no industrialization or lack adequate eyeglass resources. Existing solutions do not adequately address the time-consuming nature of multiple trips often being necessary when making a traditional retail purchase, nor minimize the wait time for glasses ordered online to be received.
The current processes for purchasing eyeglasses limit the customer's choice as to location (i.e., at an optician's location) and timing (i.e., during the hours of the optician's retail operation and/or after a wait of days or weeks for lenses to return from being manufactured in a lab). Additionally, in the current ordering process, customers may be subject to a high-pressure sales environment at the optician's retail outlet. These factors can lengthen the purchase cycle for prescription eyewear and may deter customers seeking to change frame styles or purchase extra eyeglasses. Consumers would benefit from a process that makes it easier and more economical to purchase eyewear without having to wait for the eyewear to be delivered from a remote location or return to an optician's location to receive the eyewear.